Once home to little more than fishing, lumberyards and one of the West’s larger ports in Coos Bay, the southern Oregon coast has quickly emerged as one of the world’s top golf destinations. We’re talking about Bandon Dunes, where owner Mike Keiser (who made his fortunes on the greeting card industry) sought out America’s most spectacular oceanfront property worthy of the continent’s rare pure links golf location.

Bandon Dunes Resort - a truly unique golfing experience in the USA

Bandon Dunes Resort has four courses, three of which are pure links courses overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They represent modern-but-throwback design styles that make the scenery as good as you’ll find on a golf course in the world.

The original course, Bandon Dunes, opened in 1998 and was designed by Scotsman David McLay Kidd. It was soon upstaged by Pacific Dunes, designed by Tom Doak and ranked by many publications as America’s top public golf course. Bandon Trails, a Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw design starts in dunes before weaving into the tall pines of the northwest then back out of the woods on the last hole. A fourth championship course, Old Macdonald, was added in 2010 and features a collection of links holes inspired by some of the game’s classic designs.

Aside from Bandon Dunes, Oregon has more than 200 other courses to choose from.

The Central Oregon Golf Trail features more than two dozen immaculate golf courses. All within one hour of Bend, Oregon - Sunriver, Oregon. All framed by 10,000 foot mountain peaks. And all drenched in sun, thanks to the dry, east-of-the-mountains climate.

This collection of courses, from famous names like Nicklaus, Kidd, Fazio and Jacobsen stack up quite well against Scottsdale, Myrtle Beach or San Diego. In fact, you won’t find a better variety of terrain or a more interesting mix of courses, anywhere. There is a reason that Golf Digest named Central Oregon in the Top 25 Golf Destinations in the world.